Looking forward to your longer review of Fosse. I am very interested to read Septology. Tawada 's book too. Great video.

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I can't recommend Septology enough - review will take a couple more weeks, I think, as I want to try to do it as much justice as I can.

Duplex is a Kathryn Davis I can highly recommend, if you haven't picked it up yet. It was a delight to read, and really mind-bending, I love the way she twists her sentences. I also loved The Walking Tour and The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf. She's so unique, I'm really excited to see what she can do with a memoir! I'm also excited that you'll be talking about the Fosse in more detail. I read I-II a couple of years ago, and now that VI-VII have been shortlisted I was contemplating going back to reread before continuing with the Septology. I feel like they're books you could take more from each time you read...Very much looking forward to your thoughts.

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Elizabeth! I actually started reading Duplex this morning, oddly enough! It's incredibly strange so far, but her prose-level writing is brilliant. I'm loving it so far - I'll check out the other ones you noted after I finish Duplex. I think I enjoyed The Other Name more on my reread. When you're not worried about keeping track of the different Asles or the "plot" and you just let the prose wash over you...well, it's complete bliss. It's absolutely a series I'll be revisiting, time and again, in the future. I've ordered the Norwegian editions already as I just NEED to be able to read the original...

@Echoesoflostlibraries

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for the specific recommendation! The memoir sounds fascinating and reading some GR reviews about Duplex has me very interested,

@Elizabeth-Reads

2 жыл бұрын

@@travelthroughstories Okay, you’ve convinced me to reread! I saw another novel described recently as “literary ASMR,” and that’s how I’d describe Fosse’s writing, it’s just hypnotic. How lucky you are that you can read the Norwegian! It should be so fun to see how they compare. I’m amazed at the talent of the English translator, though.

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

@@Elizabeth-Reads That's a great way to put it! I'm still learning Norwegian, but Fosse's grammar and diction are quite simple, so I think I'll be able to work through it slowly. Actually, Damion Searls, the translator, learned Norwegian while translating Fosse. He didn't know Norwegian when he began translating the first Fosse that he translated (Melancholy, or Aliss at the Fire - I forget which). So, that's some inspiration! Haha

@morbidswither3051

2 жыл бұрын

The Thin Place as well as Duplex, very good!

It appears Septology is being reissued late this year in a single volume. I just preordered that along with the Trilogy reissue, which is scheduled for June. Looking forward to reading Jon Fosse and your longer video on Septology.

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Oh, that's great! I like the way it looks in the three volumes, but it really should be in a single volume... I wonder if Fosse himself had anything to say about it being published as a trilogy or if that was just up to the publishers. I may have to reread Trilogy when the reissue comes out - I'd like to return to that one as well. Thanks for watching!

Hi Sean! Recently discovered your channel and watching trough your videos!! You got me very interested in Septology. Have you read “The duplicated man” by Saramago? Just reminded me of some of the themes…Also, want to recommend, in case you haven’t read it, “Fog” (or Mist) by the Spanish author Miguel de Unamuno. Just like Machado de Assis, very playful, but also leave you thinking about art and life and meaning… ☺️ Saludos from Spain!! 👋🏻

@travelthroughstories

Жыл бұрын

Hi! Thank you! Septology is wonderful. I've somehow not read any Saramago yet, but I own quite a few of his books. I'll look into "The Duplicated Man." I've also not heard of Miguel de Unamuno, but "Fog" (as it looks like its translated into English as) sounds wonderful! I'll keep an eye out for a copy - thanks for the recommendations.

The Kindly Ones sounds absolutly fascinating and i hate that you made me so interested. Really didn't need a 1000 page book on my tbr right now, but man alive! Skipped your Fosse because i just started The Other Name! Loved your dismissal of After The Sun!

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Hah! It's an incredibly fascinating book, but yeah...it took up a lot of time. I'm excited to hear what you make of Fosse. Reading him after reading Knausgård will, I think, lead to some interesting comparisons as I find their themes to be similar in a lot of ways. I was left pretty baffled with After the Sun. Usually I attribute that to my inability to grasp a work, which is often the case, but in this case I suspect it was the book rather than me...

Great wrap up, Sean! I'm very keen to pick up the Fosse Septology at some point. I'm currently in the midst of KOK's My Struggle Volume 4 and loving it, so it'll be nice to have another Norwegian author to look forward to once I finish.

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Wow, you're really flying through My Struggle. Keep an eye out for Jon Fosse in vol 4 - he makes an appearance (I believe it's vol 4, anyways)! Reading Fosse and Knausgård together is really interesting as they're sort of complete opposites, but at the same time, they both seem to be searching for same things.

Fantastic month here. Just picked up the first of the Septology so very excited for that.

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I hope you like Septology - it's so unique and it takes a bit of time to get acclimated to his style, but, for me at least, there are few writers as hypnotic as Fosse once you get going.

Got the first part of septology on its way after hearing so much praise around the 3rd book around the Booker Awards. Very excited to see the hype!

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! I hope you love it as much as I do.

Ohh I love that depiction of showing broken English but only from one perspective. I’ve got the first septology book. I got it for Christmas and my library doesn’t have any of them. So I might actually pre order the collected hardcover, because it’s the exact same price as ordering the next two books lol may as well wait until this December and have the best version of it. But it’s a long wait… Also can’t wait to get to Posthumous Memoirs. I got that in like November.

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

I thought it was really interesting as well! I believe Tawada has done some translation work (at the very least she's written in both Japanese and German), so she offers a pretty unique perspective. That sounds like a good plan re: Septology - I think one *could* space out reading each book, but I really think it should be thought of as a single work. I'm interested to hear what you make of the Posthumous Memoirs at the craft level. There's a lot to be lauded, but it has some issues that I think you're way more well-equipped to discuss than I am.

@SpringboardThought

2 жыл бұрын

@@travelthroughstories yeah, most people seem to think of the septology like that. And if it’s the exact same price, may as well get the hardcover. Annoying I would have the first one, but I could donate to the library, which has 0 Fosse even listed. Interesting about Posthumous. Good thing I’ve got that new translation too. I didn’t pay attention at all to that when looking for it.

You and Brian have convinced me that I would enjoy the Fosse,and I’m looking forward to jumping into the first volume of the Septology this month. I believe that Ros at Scallydandling about the Books rated Love in the Big City fairly lowly in her BT Prize ranking video. As a resident of Germany, not sure I’m ready to immerse myself in the Littell any time soon.

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

That's great to hear! Brian has been an amazing advocate for Fosse. I really hope you enjoy it. I don't blame you at all for avoiding the Littell... It's really a book that, while I think it's quite good and worth reading, I wouldn't recommend it to most people. The distance I have from it as an American probably helped me retain (some of) my sanity while reading it.

Scattered All Over the Earth sounds really interesting, love books that talk about language, and that seems like an interesting twist. I like the panska idea, as someone who has the hare-brained idea that if I managed to learn Bokmål I might be able to read Danish as a bonus.... ?? I actually just bought myself a copy of the Brás Cubas in the original Portuguese - it just arrived the other day! This would only be my second work in Portuguese, so hope I'm up to it!

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Same! Books that center a discussion about language are always my favorite. Hah - for what it's worth, I've been studying some Bokmål and parsing through Danish and Swedish isn't *too* bad (pronouncing them is a different story...)! It is an interesting idea though. I'd be interested in what you make of Brás Cubas in the Portuguese - I'm not sure if my two very different experiences of that novel were due to the translation on not, but I bet the novel is even better in Portuguese. I'm jealous that you can read it!

@erinh7450

2 жыл бұрын

@@travelthroughstories LOL, I've decided I'm not going to worry too much about pronouncing the other Scandinavian languages as long as I can read them...! I'm fluent in Spanish, so Portuguese wasn't that bad to pick up; I've been working on it for about the past year. Can I say how annoying it is that the West Germanic languages are so very different from each other compared to the Romance languages? I've heard the North Germanic ones are closer to each other (panska!), and hoping that my German will give me at least a little leverage, even if the hill is much steeper!!

Everything you said about _Septology_ , me too

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you agree, Brian! (Also glad I made *some* sense here - I'm finding it difficult to put my thoughts about Septology into words.)

I've only read some short stories by Tawada. They were so weird but I liked them! (BTW, I just finished The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen. I had this book for quite a long time but didn't really feel drawn to it until I watched your recommendation. I enjoyed it so much! Thank you!)

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

That makes me so happy! I'm really glad you enjoyed The Copenhagen Trilogy. There's a new collection her short stories coming out in a couple of weeks (here in the USA, at least) that were translated for the first time. I'm excited to read her fiction.

@clarissadalloway9236

2 жыл бұрын

@@travelthroughstories It might be the collection "The trouble with happiness", which became recently available in Europe (UK Penguin). I haven't read it. At the moment the only "short stories" I am devoted to are the Sagas ;-)

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

@@clarissadalloway9236 Yes, that's the one. That's fair! The sagas and the þættir are the way to go better than most short stories anyways. I just reread Yngvars saga víðförla and Eiríks saga víðförla over the weekend :)

Phenomenal. Loved every but if it. The Eika is a book I have read earlier this year, prior to the Longlist. And it was interesting to me but not something that really lit me up. However, I do keep thinking about Alvin! lol And if not for supporting Tilted Axis generally with my purchase, I regret having spent money on Love in the Big City. 2 stars. Fosse… I have read some of his other works and really liked them, but not Trilogy, and not Septology…yet! I feel like there are too many distractions of late for that. (I’m not saying it’s the BEST prose ever, but as medium to communicate a vision, I did appreciate the prose in The Kindly Ones. Liked it, even.) Haven’t read the others, but loved your Warlock review! If it weren’t for suddenly having acquired “too many” books, it may still be awhile before I get to Yoko Tawada, though it’s high time. I bought Septology for a rainy day.

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Ryan! Glad I'm not alone in my feelings toward Eika and Park's books. Septology is the perfect book for a rainy day, though I completely understand not wanting to dive into an 800 page trilogy! As for the prose in The Kindly Ones, I just thought that it was OK - for me it wasn't bad by any means, but I just found it a bit bland in an otherwise incredibly unique book. I do have lines from that novel constantly swirling in my head, so perhaps it was more effective than I let on here (eg, "Please, mein Herr, shoot the children cleanly"). Either way, I'd definitely read more Littell - there's a collection of novellas translated/published in 2013 that I've had my eye on. Thanks for watching (also can't help but notice that it's April and you suggested you had some plans for April, if I remember correctly...)!

@morbidswither3051

2 жыл бұрын

@@travelthroughstories yea, that’s true! Stay tuned !

If you haven’t read it yet, try Gass’s The Tunnel. A good follow up for Littell.

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

I had planned to read that this year, actually, but we'll see! I definitely need a couple of months to recover after Littell.

Great video, the Tawada peaked my interest. As you mentioned you like Fosse, which one of his works would be a good starting point to his oeuvre? Are his plays up to snuff as well?

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't read/seen any of his plays yet, though I have a couple of collections of them waiting to be read. His plays are wildly popular in Europe though, so I'm assuming that they're worth checking out. I'd say The Other Name, the first in Septology, is about as good a place as any to start with Fosse. Many of his novels/novellas are pretty similar in terms of prose style and theme. Of his backlog, Trilogy is quite good (and it's significantly shorter than Septology) and it's being republished in June. If you wanted to start with something very short, "Aliss at the Fire" and "Morning and Evening" are amazing little novellas.

Im keen to read books by Jon Fosse. Can you suggest where I should start please?

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

I think that "The Other Name," the first book in Septology, is as good a place to start as any! "Aliss at the Fire" and "Morning and Evening" are two very short novellas that would also serve as a good introduction.

Love in the Big City and After the Sun were definitely the duds of my Booker experience so far. Like you said, love in the big city was pretty forgettable and the prose wasn't that great. It did work better for me as an audiobook, but only because it became like someone gossiping with me. After the Sun 😮‍💨 I can't even tell you what happened in that. My highlights were Paradais and Book of Mother!

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

Phew! I'm glad I'm not alone in not particularly liking Love in the Big City and After the Sun. I can see how Love in the Big City works better on audio. It definitely isn't a "bad" book by any means - it was actually fun to read, but it just didn't leave any sort of lasting impression. I still need to get to Paradais. I was trying to wait for it to be released in the US, but I really should just pick up the Fitzcaraldo edition. I LOVED Hurricane Season when I read it a few years ago, so I'm sure Paradais will be another gem. I'm hoping to get to Book of Mother at some point soon as well. Thanks for the recommendations!

@yahaira_f

2 жыл бұрын

@@travelthroughstories I would call it a breezy book, but it never came together for me in the end. It was fine. My top pick is still Elena Knows!

I hope you don’t mind, but in Portuguese ch is pronounced as a c not as a k.

@travelthroughstories

2 жыл бұрын

I don't mind at all - thank you for the gentle correction!